Goal is to be in a reasonably good tech hub , start a family and have deep meaningful experiences for the future kids , while still enjoying a reasonable quality of life. We have both options open at the moment , an L1A to relocate to the Bay Area . We already have a Canadian PR or the US equivalent of a GC that expires in 3.5 years if unused. Meaningful comments / thoughts welcome !
Bay Area is great for your career but bad for raising a family due to COL. Have you considered Austin?
Canadian here that's living in Bay area. You will make more money and have way more cool work opportunities in Bay area. But after a while it starts to feel like the rat race here. Schools are so competitive. Everyone works overtime. Long commutes and less time to spend with family. Canada is a great country if you value safety, work life balance, and raising kids.
Canada is lot mor immigrant friendly and multi cultural. Ideally you make your money in Bay Area for 5-10years and settle down in Canada
What are some good tech companies in canada?
Look up TechTio or tech vibes Toronto
If you are not Indian or Chinese your US green card should be processed in less than 2 years if your employer sponsors it as soon as you join. I agree with considerations or so far about the US: you'll have a lot more opportunities and earn more money, but probably not the best place to raise children. My personal plan is to stay in the bay area for a few years to build my reputation and save some serious money and then move somewhere less crazy and more family friendly.
^this
Thanks for the comments everyone . I do not wish to relinquish my Canadian PR which only has 3.5 years on it for a highly uncertain GC process even for an L1A visa. From my research , the current wait times are more than 10 to 15 months for the I-140 and I do not want to be “on the hook” as time is the most precious commodity I have . Unfortunately am not at the liberty to spend a couple of years in the Bay Area and then relocate to Canada as my PR would have expired by then, and I don’t see why Canada would be interested in issuing me a fresh PR if I didn’t use my current one itself. Also , see this too https://medium.com/@srlake/debunking-the-myth-of-higher-pay-in-silicon-valley-87828cbf6698?source=linkShare-16100db2f27e-1513318093 One may say there is bias in this writing , but this is open for debate as well
I was in the same position. Took the L1 route. Got my US GC in 1 year, still have 2 years until the CA PR expires and I make 3 x the money I would make in Canada. You should do the same. With L1A you will have your US GC in 6 months and if for some reason you don't like the US you can GTFO. It's all about having options.
Agree .. and if the wait seems too long , we can GTFO without having to go through the wait.. thanks for your thoughts
Hahaha 6 month GC on L1A: Nope.. not in Trump’s America. More like 1.5-2 years now